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Sonia Crites
Class of ‘98
Christian Fellowship Group History
In 1990, three freshmen girls decided to create a group where they could fellowship with other Christians on campus. Kim Stephenson, Heidi Silverberg, and Trina Clementz organized Wednesday night meetings which they called the Christian Fellowship Group.
It started as a small group and remained that way for the first several years. It was informal in nature…just a few friends gathering to sing praises to God and grow deeper in faith.
Although CFG grew large enough to become an official C-SC organization, the leaders hesitated; they didn’t want to have to choose a president. They wanted CFG to remain group-led. Time passed, and the first generation of CFGers graduated. But their dream for a more Christ-centered Culver-Stockton lived on.
Soon after, with God’s grace, the Christian Fellowship Group began to grow. In 1995, the current leadership decided to make CFG an official organization so that the group could be included in campus activities and listings. Jeremy Gibbs and Ellen Seat wrote the constitution, and so we were finally given a slot in the yearbook, among other things.
To be official, the group also had to elect officers. CFG was under the impression that we had to choose a president, a VP, and the other rudimentary offices. So Jeremy Gibbs and Ellen Seat stepped up to the plate to become president and vice president, respectively. I think they just did "eeny-meeny-miny-moe" or something to decide who got what position!
CFG continued to grow in size from 15-20 people to 30-40 regular attenders. With the increase in size, some adjustments had to be made. First of all, we couldn’t just shout out song requests any longer. It got to be too chaotic, so our piano player began picking out songs in advance. Out of this leadership, came our current praise and worship committee and praise band.
CFG also had to break into small groups to continue personal discussion and interaction. When we stayed in the large group all the time, it was hard to get to know new people. Thus, small groups caused a greater need for more leaders, which also sometimes presented a challenge.
But with our growing pains, also came the exciting possibilities for a larger group. We were able to do more activities, like retreats, fundraisers, concert roadtrips, and sponsor special programs like True Love Waits. It was wonderful, but we were learning as we were going, so I’m sure we made many mistakes.
Then we came to one of our most difficult times as an organization. In the fall of 1997, the leadership added several new "jobs" into CFG’s structure. We felt that the leaders just had too much to do, and we were unable to focus on the special needs of the group. So we added most of the committees that are in operation today. But when time came for elections, we were uncomfortable with them. Before, because we were a small group, they had always been nominally chosen: those who wanted to work, signed up, and were usually "elected" for what they signed up for. But it didn’t really matter who got what, because everyone pitched in and helped.
Sign-ups went around, and the leadership wasn’t satisfied with the turnout. Some committees didn’t have anyone while three people signed up for president. Tension ran high between some people in the group, and everyone was concerned. Luckily, God intervened during one of our leadership meetings, and reminded us that He was the leader of CFG.
We prayed that night for guidance, and postponed our elections to wait for God. After much thought and prayer, couple of solutions came up. One leading idea was to abolish the offices of president and vice president (since their duties had been doled out to the new committees), and make the leadership a committee of committee chairpersons with NO specified leader. The other idea was basically the same, but to have a leader. We struggled with this decision for a number of weeks. In the end, the majority decided to make God the leader, and let the group be run by a committee of equal chairpersons. All decisions had to be approved by the committee. No single person had veto power (except God).
Since then, the structure has worked well: it gets more people involved and makes CFG more effective and equal. Naturally, we will always need leaders, but we need to always but God in control.
You are now the third "generation" of Christian Fellowship Group members and leaders. When God accomplishes the work that He has set out for CFG to accomplish, miracles will happen. I do not know when this will happen, but I do know that you will play a vital role in God’s plan, just like every person before you. Leading CFG will be hard work, but it will also be some of the most fun and rewarding times you will ever have. Remember always that Jesus is your example—and he is love.